LOS ANGELES – For a few panicky days after a regular season defined by injuries, penalties and inexperience had ended, it seemed possible – if not cruelly inevitable – that UCLA’s offensive line might lose the two threads that held it together all season long.

Widely known as one of the nation’s top recruiters, offensive line coach Adrian Klemm was heavily pursued by USC, with new coach Steve Sarkisian offering more money than UCLA could ever afford. And Xavier Su’a-Filo, an All-American and the Bruins’ best lineman in each of the last two years, seemed like an ideal candidate to declare for the NFL draft.

Since then, at least half of that equation has been resolved.

Klemm, the architect behind UCLA’s rebuild up front, chose to stay, even though he acknowledged the money across town was “enticing.” To say thanks, UCLA upped his salary to almost $700,000.

Su’a-Filo won’t see quite the same benefits, if he were to stay. Almost 23, Su’a-Filo’s two-year Mormon mission makes him one of the nation’s older fourth-year juniors. Another year could mean diminishing returns in terms of his perceived upside by NFL teams, leaving him with a difficult decision to make between now and Jan. 15.

“You come here to have success after you’re done here,” Klemm said. “If that’s one year earlier, he needs to go ahead and do that. I’m not going to hold him back from it. I want to see him do well. He’s earned the right. … He can sharpen up some things, but if he comes out and he’s the first or second guard taken, I think it’s a no-brainer.”

Su’a-Filo was the only real constant on UCLA’s line this season, despite playing mostly out of position at left tackle, where he was thrust into action after UCLA lost its top three – Simon Goines, Torian White, and Conor McDermott – to season-ending injuries. He even tried to be a better leader this season, printing out motivational quotes for inspiration and to try being more vocal with his younger teammates.

Klemm said Su’a-Filo still has some work to do with his body composition – mostly adding strength and shedding fat – which could be helped by another season of college.

But time with its best offensive lineman seems fleeting for UCLA, which hasn’t had a highly drafted lineman since Kris Farris in 1999. If Su’a-Filo declares, he’ll likely be a second- or third-round pick. He’ll also leave UCLA with even more questions than it had at the beginning of this season.

Klemm said he expects Goines’ and McDermott’s injuries to heal just fine, and although Scott Quessenberry has slotted recently in Su’a-Filo’s place at left guard, he’ll still compete with Jake Brendel at center in the spring and fall. The rest, including White’s status, remain uncertain.

The only thing that seems resolute at this point is Klemm, who, much to UCLA’s delight, will be around for at least the near future.

“We know how important he is to this program,” freshman Caleb Benenoch said. “He’s one of the main reasons we all chose to come here. It was a big deal to us for him to stay. We want to show him he didn’t stay for no reason.”

WHITE INVESTIGATION

It’s been more than a month since White’s arrest on suspicion of sexual assault, with no update on the UCLA police department’s investigation into the matter.

But in addressing the future of his offensive line at UCLA’s bowl practice Friday, Klemm alluded to the case potentially wrapping up in the near future.

“That’s something that, from a legal standpoint, has already been cleared outside of here,” Klemm said. “It’s just some things on campus, the UC system, you’ve got to go through some things to move forward.”

According to spokesperson for the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office, however, there has been no change in the status of the investigation.

Ryan Kartje is a sports features reporter, with a special focus on the NFL and college sports. He has worked for the Orange County Register since 2012, when he was hired as UCLA beat writer. His enterprise work on the rise and fall of the daily fantasy sports industry (http://www.ocregister.com/articles/industry-689093-fantasy-daily.html) was honored in 2015 with an Associated Press Sports Editors’ enterprise award in the highest circulation category. His writing has also been honored by the Football Writers Association of America and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Ryan worked for the Bloomington (Ind.) Herald-Times and Fox Sports Wisconsin, before moving out west to live by the beach and eat copious amounts of burritos.